Hiraeth: Return to Neverland #1 (a darlinghook fanfic)

4 | decision

"Wendy's home!" rang Michael's call from his perch in the tree house. The eleven-year-old dropped his binoculars to the boards that made up the floor and scrambled down the ladder, dropping barefoot to the ground.

When she started travelling to the isolated places she researched for work, Wendy sold her car and bought a second-hand jeep that was bright green. It was far better for driving on dirt roads and she liked the colour. It also made it very easy for anyone who knew her to know she had arrived.

The jeep rattled down the street and as Wendy approached the house, she could see the bedroom window from which she had flown to Neverland. The sight of Michael running barefoot through the yard reminded her even more of their adventures. She now kept the pixie dust in a small stoppered glass vial that she wore around her neck and was certain that when they saw it, they would be convinced that Neverland had been real. Then they could all go there together and they would all have truly wonderful adventures.

"Michael, John," Wendy said, as they sat in the living room. She glanced behind her to make sure that their mother was in the kitchen. Their father was at work. "I'd like to talk to you about something." She rose and gestured for them to follow her upstairs.

In her bedroom, Wendy stood in her usual spot by the window. Michael sat down on the bed and John went to sit on the chair by the desk. They looked at Wendy expectantly.

Wendy wasn't sure what to say. The last time she had mentioned Neverland outright, she had not had the best reaction. Even though Michael was younger than she had been when she went to Neverland, and John was only a little older than she had been, they seemed to have completely forgotten. Then she remembered a trick she had taught herself, a way to see the mermaid lagoon. "Close your eyes," she ordered them.

"What?" said John. "Why?"

"Just do it," she said.

Hesitantly, they both did. "Now," she continued. "you will see a shapeless pool of pale colours, floating around in the darkness." She paused, but saw no reaction on her brothers' faces. "Squeeze your eyes tighter and the pool becomes clearer and the colours become so vivid that it almost looks like they're on fire." Michael frowned for a moment, like he was trying to remember something, but it disappeared so quickly, Wendy wondered if she had imagined it. "With another squeeze, they definitely are on fire, but right before they go on fire, what do you see?"

Both Michael and John opened their eyes immediately and for one lovely, painfully fleeting moment, Wendy saw recognition in their eyes as they stared at each other, then at her.

"Did you see it?" she asked, breathlessly. "You guys both saw it, didn't you?"

His expression reverting back to its skepticism of the last time, John said, "Saw what?"

"The Mermaid Lagoon."

"The-" John shook his head. "I don't know what has gotten into you Wendy, but you have to realize that it was all a game we played. Michael barely even remembers what the game was about, much less believes that it was all real, right Michael?"

Michael nodded.

"But I found pixie dust!" Wendy exclaimed, gripping the pendant that hung around her neck. "It took a few years of searching, but I finally found some. I think it's enough for all of us to get back."

"Is that all your job has been about?" John asked in disbelief. "You've been driving around the country, going to supposed magical places looking for fairy dust?" He stood up. "And Mom and Dad were worried about you before."

Wendy let go of the vial. "Mom and Dad are worried about me? Whatever for?"

"Don't you see it?" Michael asked. "They think you're wasting your time working for the journal."

"What?"

John nodded. "You're the smart one, Wendy, you were supposed to go study psychology and get a Master's degree or whatever. Now you're working for a magazine that writes about goblins, witches and the little people."

Indignant, Wendy could not help but defend her employer. "The Folklore and Myth is a prestigious academic journal that studies ancient folklore and legends around the world."

His eyebrows rose. "You tell Mom and Dad that." The front door opened and closed. Their father's footsteps could be heard as he made his way from the front entrance into the living room. "Looks like he's home. Michael and I will leave you to it." And with that, they left the room.

Wendy stood by herself at the window, feeling like she had had the wind knocked out of her. Weren't her parents proud of her? She was doing what she enjoyed and had the opportunity to travel all over the country, visiting fascinating places. Wasn't that enough for them?

Before she could think better of it, she stormed downstairs, finding both her parents in the living room. They looked up in surprise to see her enter in such a state.

"What is it, Wendy?" her mother asked.

"I don't know, Mom?" Wendy asked, looking from her mother to her father. "What is wrong with my job?"

Her parents looked at each other knowingly. "Why don't you sit down and tell us what you mean." Her father suggested, taking a seat.

Shaking her head, Wendy continued. "John told me. You guys are worried about me? You think I'm wasting my time with the journal?"

"Sweetheart, we just thought that you always wanted to study psychology, ever since the beginning of high school." Mrs. Darling said, soothingly. "We were surprised at your change of interest. You hadn't talked about fairy-tales since you were little."

"So you don't think I should be working for the journal? You think I should go back to school and study psychology again?" Wendy couldn't take any more of her parents' expressions and stormed from the room, running up the stairs to her bedroom. She didn't hear them follow her.

They didn't think that her job was good enough. Well, she didn't really need her job anymore, did she? Not where she was going.